answer:No. Congestive heart failure is used to describe a progression of the heart losing its ability to pump. It can be from several reasons, but basically the blood is not being pumped well and it pools or congests (is congests a word?). Eventually, someone can die from congestive heart failure, but they can live for a while with their heart not pumping well also. It depends on the specific situation and severity. A heart attack is sudden.